Podnews Daily - podcast industry and podcasting news
Daily news for people in podcasting - from Apple Podcasts to Spotify and YouTube; Amy Poehler to Crime Junkie and Joe Rogan, indie podcasting to the biggest hits. Whether it's the newest show from Goalhanger, the latest signing from The Ringer, advertising information from Magellan AI or Podtrac, research including the most popular podcasts to listen to, or updates from The Daily from The New York Times, we cover it all, every weekday. Podnews also covers the latest podcast jobs and events - and we help you with new podcasts to listen to. Our podcast is updated weekdays at 7a...
Apple Podcasts updates embedded player
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Apple Podcasts has updated its embedded player for websites - which allows you to embed episodes or your show. The player supports video and trailers. While plays from the Apple Podcasts web embed are not displayed in Apple Podcasts Connect Analytics, they'll be in your podcast host, and it's a great way to make it easy for new listeners. Podcasts you love, from people you tr...'The Daily' offers five things to know about podcasting
Sponsored by The Podglomerate. Get YouTube podcast strategy straight from the source. Join The Podglomerate for a free webinar featuring YouTube Podcasts’ Strategic Partner Manager on video production, marketing, and monetization. Register here
Rachel Quester, Supervising Producer of The Daily, shared five things she's learned with the audience at Radiodays Asia, which has just wrapped-up in Jakarta. "Have a clear, simple, intentional mission statement" ... "Figure out new ways to tell the same story" ... "Challenge yourself to not become formulaic" ... "Meet your audience where they are (don't try to be the smartest person in the room)" ... and "Find someone wh...Podcasting in 2026 is “beyond audio”
Sponsored by The Podglomerate. Get YouTube podcast strategy straight from the source. Join The Podglomerate for a free webinar featuring YouTube Podcasts’ Strategic Partner Manager on video production, marketing, and monetization. Register here
Speaking at Radiodays Asia today, Ron Baetiong from Podcast Network Asia highlighted the difficulty of earning revenue from traditional podcasts in the region. 80-90% of media budgets are already allocated, he said; audio podcasts are among the many things fighting for the 10% left. "It's hard to build a business when you're begging for scraps". Instead, he highlighted the opportunities beyond audio: YouTube videos, TikTok's longform po...One click to get into 16 podcast directories
Sponsored by The Podglomerate. Get YouTube podcast strategy straight from the source. Join The Podglomerate for a free webinar featuring YouTube Podcasts’ Strategic Partner Manager on video production, marketing, and monetization. Register here
Over 70% of active podcasts aren't in all the podcast directories that they could be. That's the surprise discovery by podcast host Buzzsprout: which has redesigned its directory submissions process to add your podcast to 16 directories in just one click. In the two weeks since launch, the company says that more than 5,200 Buzzsprout podcasts have added at least one directory where they weren’t listed before. ...A big network moves distribution to Flightcast
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Going to Podcast Movement? Meet the Magellan AI team at the show and Business Summit, Sept 14-18. Book time with us
In Australia, LiSTNR has partnered with Flightcast to power its podcasting distribution, including video. More than 150 shows will move onto Flightcast, which was launched by Steven Bartlett and Rox Codes in Oct 2025 - it's the company's biggest customer yet. LiSTNR is run by Australia's largest commercial radio company SCA: they currently use Triton's Omny Studio for podcast hosting. Triton Digital and radio playout provider RCS have announced programmatic audio advertising for broadcast radio...Keynotes announced for Podcast Movement NYC
Sponsored by Magellan AI. CBC swapped generic trailers for episode-specific promos and nearly tripled conversion, measured by Magellan AI. See how they did it
Podcast Movement announced two keynotes - Tom Webster will give a preview of The Podcast Landscape 2026, while TINK Media's Lauren Passell and Arielle Nissenblatt (above) will explain "WTF is a podcast in 2026". Tickets are available here. Podcast Movement has also announced it is to celebrate sponsors and attendees with a billboard in Times Square (upload your logo through the Swapcard app); and "podcast newsletter checkups" with beehiiv through the event. And, Arielle Nissenblatt...Building in public: Podsqueeze
Sponsored by Magellan AI. When CBC hosts guested on other podcasts, those appearances converted at around 13%, tracked by Magellan AI. Read their story
Building in public: the founders of Podsqueeze appeared on Jason Cohen's Smart Bear Live, and on his YouTube channel alongside the founder of Castos Craig Hewitt, in a workshop discussing how the company's growth has plateaued, and what they might want to do to continue growing. It's a helpful (and honest) view about producing tools for podcasting. This tap has been turned back on... on Monday, we covered The Parent Tap being wrongly kicked off...July’s top podcast ad spender
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Join Magellan AI and Sounds Profitable on September 10th to unpack Q2 measurement trends across the podcast market. Register for the webinar
Quince is buying more podcast ads than anyone else, says Magellan AI - spending $7.5mn in July. BetterHelp and Amazon spent around $5.4mn. Meanwhile, Hero Bread, Accenture and Lululemon were the biggest movers and shakers. Magellan AI has a free webinar on Sep 10. Crooked Media has acquired the FiveThirtyEight politics podcast - kind of. Its founder Nate Silver sold the brand to Disney; but was laid off in 2023. The podcast podfaded in...Podcast Movement NYC releases full schedule
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Trees.com used to burst audio spend in-season, then drop it to zero. Magellan AI helped it stay always-on for the first time. See how they scaled
The full schedule for Podcast Movement NYC has been published on the website. There are announcements still to come for the keynote sessions. We're told that the event will be using Swapcard, as previous years, so you'll have an app to plan it all. Tickets are still available. Podbean podcasters were given a shock this week, as the company rolled out new filters to its download analytics "...Turned off: YouTube suddenly pulls podcast
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Trees.com used Magellan AI to cut waste and lift audio efficiency 96% year over year. See how they did it
Top 10 parenting podcast The Parent Tap has been suddenly pulled from YouTube - apparently by an automated tool. With no strikes or warnings, the show was permanently pulled on August 14th, accusing the channel of trying to circumvent a ban: a ban that the channel owner says simply didn't happen. An attempt to appeal the closure was knocked back almost instantly by YouTube, using an automated template. Ryan McDonough, the channel's owner, has opened...Good news - the power is with us in podcasting
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Smarter signals, smarter podcast decisions. See how in Beyond the Buy, from Magellan AI and True Native Media. Download the guide
The power is in our hands, says Losh Moodaley in an eagerly-anticipated new article for Podnews. Power might be being consolidated by the platforms that control distribution - and it's especially the case for podcasting's middle-class - but the good news is that there are ways to gain economic leverage and own many parts of the relationships needed for podcasting, she says. It's nice to read good news at the end of...Who’s flying this thing: publishers, or ad-tech?
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Join Magellan AI today at 12P ET for a live look at where Q2 podcast ad dollars went. Join the webinar
"Should a publisher’s commercial decisions be honored by the technology they pay for?" Flightpath is shipping a tool today called Automation Playbooks, a new tool to combat what it calls unreliable ad delivery from podcast ad-tech partners. The tool logs in regularly to check all campaigns against delivery, and to make changes to live orders. The release quotes one frustrated Head of Revenue at a podcast network: "Being asked to re-flight thousands of...Publishers “should ignore” new YouTube view numbers
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Rhapsody Voices uses Magellan AI to help land 30%+ of every show's sponsors. Read their story
Yesterday's announcement from YouTube of a new way to calculate "views" should be ignored by all publishers, says Zachary Boone from YMH Studios. The company will only report on "Engaged Views", the original view metric from YouTube, which is widely believed to have a 30-second minimum. Boone says the change "opens the door for unsavory actors to misrepresent their numbers," and calls for other publishers and networks to commit to the same. Spotify Creative Lab has shown an example...YouTube changes how “views” are calculated
Sponsored by Magellan AI. With Magellan AI, Rhapsody Voices sold 80%+ of its ad inventory on two shows in back-to-back quarters. See how they did it
A week after YouTube altered the numbers you need before you start making money, YouTube's visible definition of a "play" (or "view") is also to change. From August 24, a public view will be counted "the moment a video begins to play from the very first frame". Creators still have access to "engaged views", which YouTube publicly says is "how many times viewers stayed to watch past the first frame and initial seconds"...Spotify: unskippable ads for them, skipped ads for us?
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Q2's podcast ad spend numbers are in. Get Magellan AI's Benchmark Report. Download now
Exclusive: A few weeks ago, Podnews broke the story that Spotify is testing a "Skip ahead" ad-skipping tool for some customers. Perhaps making the most of its dominant market position, today we note that Spotify is selling its own unskippable podcast ads; and we discover that its terms and conditions gives Spotify the legal right to automatically skip everyone else's. The Ambies are open for entry from today. There are two new categories - best music and episode of...Podcast causes diplomatic incident
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Aircheck review across 30+ shows used to take days. Direct Results cut it to hours with Magellan AI. See their approach
An appearance on a comedy podcast by the Australian Prime Minister has resulted in an international diplomatic incident. In July, Anthony Albanese was criticised for responding to a game of "shag, marry, date" with the answer "Kylie Minogue, all of the above", and was forced to apologise. Now, political opponents, aided by the Murdoch press, have complained about a gesture Albanese made when he was describing two melons he was gifted by Japan's (female...Podcast Movement NYC reveals first set of speakers
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Direct Results found 30-second ads drove more purchases than 60s, then shifted their whole mix. See what the data showed
Podcast Movement has revealed featured speakers for the event in NYC in September. Among the speakers are Greg Glenday, the CEO of Acast, beehiiv's Ainsley Rossitto, and our Editor, James Cridland. Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster will also be unveiling new research. Tickets are available now. Alex Cooper's Unwell network has received a strategic investment from WTSL, an investment firm. The investment figure isn't known; but according to The Hollywood Reporter, values Unwell at $500mn...Acast acquires Backyard Ventures
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Find out where Q2 podcast ad dollars went, live with Magellan AI on August 20. Sign up for the webinar
Podcast marketplace Acast has acquired Backyard Ventures, a US-based podcast network, for US $20mn. Backyard Ventures is home to podcasts like Piers Morgan's Uncensored, Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic, and audiences of more than 230 million. The team from Backyard Ventures will stay with the business; the brand will be retired as the company is integrated into Acast. Backyard shows are currently hosted and monetised by ART19 and Megaphone. The Podcast Consultant has acquired B2B...Locked out: YouTube changes qualification for ad revenue
Sponsored by Magellan AI. What shifted in podcast ad spend last quarter? Magellan AI's Q2 Benchmark Report breaks it down. Download the report
It's going to be much harder to get money from YouTube. In "the first significant change since 2018", YouTube has made it twice as hard to get into the YouTube Partner Program, which pays creators based on consumption on the platform. New creators applying for the program will need 8,000 qualified watch hours (in the last year), or 20 million qualified Shorts views (in the last 90 days) - both double the amount that was required previously. Greg Glenday...Now anyone can earn from Apple Podcasts video
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Attribution helped American Public Media reach its strongest digital sales performance since 2021. Read their story
Podcast hosting company RSS.com has added HLS video podcasting for Apple Podcasts that you can earn from. Video ads will run automatically, and creators can receive 70% of the revenue - with no audience threshold. The "Max" plan offers unlimited video and audio podcasts, and is available now. Audible has unveiled a new global brand campaign, "Stories that Speak to You". It'll start running next week in eight different countries. "As more privacy models are rightfully coming into play...Storm clouds at Cumulus Podcast Network
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Smarter signals, smarter podcast decisions. See how in Beyond the Buy, from Magellan AI and True Native Media. Download the guide
Cumulus Media has laid-off a large number of people in the Cumulus Podcast Network; some reports suggested the entire department has been gutted, though the company has said that those reports are inaccurate, and that the company "remains committed" to its network. A LinkedIn post by former VP of Podcast Operations and Production, Jay "PodVader" Soderberg, suggests he is one of those affected; it's also reported that SVP of Marketing and Podcasting Carolyn...13% now consume podcasts most on the TV
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Let's talk podcast ad spend benchmarks. Get the Q2 rundown from Cameron, live on August 20. Join the webinar
13% of US weekly podcast consumers say they consume podcasts most often... on the television. Edison Podcast Metrics report that it's the highest figure yet - and reflects the growing number of podcasts making it to YouTube, Netflix, Tubi and other video platforms. It does beg the question: what is Apple Podcasts doing about Roku and Android TV, which dominate the connected TV world? Apple Podcasts on an Apple TV will get access to video podcasting...Acast and Buzzsprout both enhance video offerings
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Earmax Media grew podcast conversion rates 12x over two years by tracking which shows and formats converted. Read their playbook
How much could video increase your show? "Adding video saw an estimated increase of around 25% in weekly sessions on Apple Podcasts" says Acast, announcing today that any Acast creator can now publish video to Apple Podcasts; the feature had previously been invitation-only. All creators have potential to earn from video as well, through Acast's marketplace. The video plan starts at $39.99/month on an annual plan. (If you're already on the Acast Creator Network, just...EXCLUSIVE: Spotify threatens podcasting with ad-skipping tool
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Explore Worldwide quadrupled its podcast spend with Earmax Media, and the work won a Campaign Audio Award. See how they did it
Exclusive: Spotify releases its latest earnings report this morning - but they won't be promoting this. In a significant threat to podcasting, Podnews can reveal today that Spotify is testing an ad-skipping tool for podcasts - a "Skip ahead" button that appears in podcast ads and sponsorship messages. Spotify's new ad-blocker is even blocking ads that Spotify has sold, leading some to wonder whether this is fraudulent behaviour by the company. Ads...The EU Artificial Intelligence Act becomes law
Sponsored by Magellan AI. Bring digital-grade attribution to broadcast radio with Magellan AI. See what listeners do after the spot airs. Explore broadcast attribution
The EU Artificial Intelligence Act comes into law today - which is relevant if your content is consumed in the EU, like all podcasts are. Article 50 requires clear disclosure if you use AI to "generate or manipulate" audio or video content. In an article, Production Expert clarifies that manipulation doesn't mean de-noising or repairing audio (or using AI editing tools); but it does mean that clear disclosure is required if you're generating whole phrases...The highest-paid podcasters
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Forbes has published a list of the twenty Highest-Paid Podcasters of 2026. The full list is, ironically, behind a paywall; the top five is Joe Rogan The Joe Rogan Experience($82mn) at #1, John Coogan and Jordi Hayes of TBPN($70mn), Steven Bartlett of Diary of a CEO ($45mn), Ashley Flowers of Crime...Want to grow your podcast? Get one of these
Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today
Podcast newsletters (ones you run for your podcast, not this one) are "the best real estate to own in podcasting", says Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster in an article this week. 87% of subscribers to podcast newsletters have listened to an episode because of them (42% often have), and of course they allow you...How Canadians listen to audio
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9 out of 10 Canadians listened to some form of audio yesterday - and half of it is ad-supported. However, podcasts get just 9% of all ad-supported audio time in Canada, says a new piece of research from Signal Hill Insights. Music on YouTube, or streaming services, are listened-to more than 2.5x more, the...Checking ads aren’t disguised as something else
Sponsored by SpotsNow. Want to fill more ad space? SpotsNow's AI Search routes advertisers to the right shows by audience fit, at the time of planning. Set up a free account, list your shows, and requests land straight in your ad sales inbox. Book a demo today
Programmatic ads are fine - until they're not. Some companies are a little too "creative" with their categories, so they can slip past creator filters and you can get ads for things you don't want in your show. RedCircle has launched Mic Check for Programmatic Ads - a tool that checks...Cheerful Earful to bring funny back
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The world's funniest podcast festival returns this October. Cheerful Earful will be in London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Dublin and New York from Sep 28 - Oct 28, with the largest lineup in the festival's history. Is video the future for podcasting? It depends, suggests Losh Moodaley, writing for Podnews today - the hidden...AMP Accords released, including podcast definition
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
The AMP Accords published what it calls "the first cross-platform measurement standard in history". The document defines a podcast, and aims to set implementation standards for attribution and exposure metrics. It argues that these standards are required to grow the industry further - and could, potentially, unlock a billion dollars in extra...Acast shows strong sales growth
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
Acast released its Q2/26 financial report. The company reported +28% sales growth - significantly, +34% in North America and +25% in Europe (growth this time last year in Europe was just +9%). The company made a profit of US$3.3mn. Total consumption is up +2%; total average revenue per listen-or-view is up +26%. The AMP Task Force paper...Another app promises to cut out the ads
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
In January, we reported on PodcastAdBlock, a podcast tool that removed ads from podcasts, selling ad-free copies of shows. It was written by developer, "adventurer and entrepreneur" Ben Bowler, who, by May, had pulled the tool down. Today, we discover, he's back - with Podtastic, a podcast app that skips the ads...IAB to release v2.3 of measurement guidelines
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
This morning, the IAB Tech Lab will release v2.3 of the Podcast Measurement Guidelines for public comment - updated for the first time since Feb 2024. The updates add "guidance around URL prefix measurement and RSS enclosure URL changes" among other things, although we will have to wait until 2027 for a version of...The top 50 podcasts in the US
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
Edison Research at SSRS released the top 50 podcasts in the US for Q2 2026. The Bill Simmons Podcast, which is now visible on Netflix, has jumped 17 positions to make it into the top 25 for the first time. British podcast The Rest Is History has entered the top 50 for the first time. (Simplecast hosts 17...Audio: the “foundation” of podcasting
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
Audio remains the bedrock of podcasting, says a new report from Nielsen. 90% of monthly podcast consumers choose to listen, the data suggests, and most of podcast consumption is still audio, by a large margin. It quotes Edison Research's Share of Ear for Q1, which sys that 20% of time spent with ad-supported audio...Platform insights for YouTube
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
WARC Media released a report on YouTube - which, it says, is worth $40bn to advertisers, but revenue growth is slowing down. TikTok is set to grow bigger than YouTube by the end of the decade; but Netflix is expected to pull ahead in the next eighteen months. Users spend 58 minutes a...Listeners prefer AI voices, claim two studies
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
A new study seems to show that audiobook listeners prefer some AI narrators over human voices. The study, conducted by Edison Research at SSRS, blind-tested Spoken Multi-Cast narration, and discovered that, while 31% of listeners said they'd be likely to listen to AI, after listening, that number had risen to 65%. (61% thought that the...Interest in podcast advertising hits twelve year high
Sponsored by SpotsNow Search. Try Advanced Search for Podcast Advertisers. SpotsNow's new AI Search ranks all shows on audience fit and targeting, then allows you to see the performance potential in one click so you isolate the best shows quickly. Try SpotsNow Search Free
Podcasting has never been more interesting to advertising agencies and marketers, according to new research released by Westwood One. The study reveals that 76% of agencies and advertisers currently advertise in podcasts - a x5 increase in the last twelve years. SpotsNow has launched a new AI Search for podcast ad buyers. The...Bill Maher signs with Daylight Media
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Exclusive: Daylight Media has signed Bill Maher's Club Random - it becomes the latest show to join the network in a period of fast growth. Daylight will work with Club Random on sales and distribution; nine other shows have recently joined the platform. "Consumers simply don't have the attention span they...